Friday, July 10, 2009

On the eve of his sixtieth birthday, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar is not contemplating regressing into past life. But he admits, nonetheless, that if he had to live life all over again, there are two things he would most certainly do differently. "I would throw my wicket away, not bat 60 overs for 36 runs like I did in the 1975 World Cup, and I would not get into a situation where a Test match could be conceded [as happened at Melbourne, Australia, in 1980-81], whatever the provocation," he said.

You have never pushed your son Rohan, but do you have any sense of disappointment that he could not go the distance with the India cap?

Look, I wanted him to be a good human being. For me, that was the most important thing. Being a cricketer or a doctor, engineer, journalist was his choice. I just wanted him to be content with what he was. All the feedback that I get from all those who have interacted with him is nothing but positive, which pleases me to no end. As far as his cricket is concerned, I keep teasing him all the time that his father used up all the luck, that's why he didn't have much left for him.